Russia’s Recession Squeezes Migrants

Millions of Foreigners, Lured by Oil Boom, Now Face Bias in Ethnic Backlash

MOSCOW — A few years ago, Alisher Azizov traveled by train to Moscow from Tajikistan in search of a better life, and he found it.

Working as a security guard and stock boy for a flower shop, the 32-year-old son of peasants earned about $1,000 a month, 15 times the average salary in his impoverished homeland and enough to support the extended family he left behind — his wife, five sons, parents and seven siblings.


But a few weeks ago, his boss slashed his salary by two-thirds, blaming the global economic crisis that has battered Russia. At those wages, Azizov couldn’t afford the rent for the cramped apartment he shares with several other migrant workers. So he found himself at the train station again, contemplating the long journey back to his home village.

“My father was so proud of me when I was sending my salary back home,” Azizov said, standing in the grand Kazansky Rail Terminal with other workers who complained they had not been paid in months. “I was their hope here in Russia,” he added. “They were hoping for stability.”

Azizov is one of millions of migrant workers who were lured to Russia over the past eight years by its long oil boom — and who are now struggling to get by as the country grapples with its worst recession in a decade. As the downturn deepens and companies cut costs, these workers have been among the first to be refused their wages and lose their jobs.

Washington Post